Modern Evangelism Versus Biblical Salvation — E.A. Johnston

The Danger of Counting Decisions as Conversions

I was sitting at a banquet table for my seminary graduation dinner, and people were getting up on the platform and giving testimonies. One sticks out in my mind in particular. A young man in his early twenties jumped up on the platform and announced he was an evangelist, and just last week he held a crusade in a certain city, and he wanted everyone there to know that, at the end of his crusade, over 1 ,100 people got saved.

And everybody there at that banquet clapped their hands and shouted, Amen. Everybody there except me. I sat there with a concerned look on my face because that's a picture of modern-day evangelism. Give an emotional invitation with no strings attached, and offer a friendly Jesus, and ask folks to walk an aisle to accept this Jesus and his free ticket to heaven, and most everybody will.

And that young man, that young evangelist, had no right to say that 1 ,100 people got saved. He doesn't even know for sure if one of them got truly saved. Only God knows that. You see, friend, in your day and mine, many preachers make it awful easy to walk an aisle to accept Jesus, but in reality, few are saved and those with great difficulty.

And the title of my message today is Modern Evangelism vs. Biblical Salvation, and in this message I intend to make a contrast between contemporary evangelism and true biblical salvation because they are as far apart as the East is from the West.

I don't know why evangelists are so hung up on announcing the number of conversions under their ministry. Maybe it's because they have to make their newsletters exciting to keep their financial support up.

Maybe it's because they feel if no one is getting saved under their ministry, they are a failure. Maybe it's because they are prideful and need to boast. I don't really know for sure, but it's sad when evangelists feel they have to announce how many people came to Christ under their preaching.

Today the church is preoccupied with numbers, whereas Jesus never was. Rather, he poured his life into just twelve men. It reminds me of a story about the great British evangelist George Whitefield. Whitefield was in America during the Great Awakening of 1740, and he was preaching outdoors on Boston Common to 20 ,000 hearers at a time.

When Boston had a population of only 60 ,000, Whitefield had the ear of one-third of the entire city. There were so many people flocking to hear him preach, he had to force his way through the crowds just to get up on his platform.

When Whitefield was finished preaching one day, a Boston minister approached him and asked, Mr. Whitefield, how many converts have you had since you've been among us? To which the great evangelist replied, I don't know, sir, but I shall return to these parts in a year or so and look for the evidence of their salvation.

But if an evangelist was asked that same question today, he'd probably announce that over 1 ,100 people got saved under his preaching. The trouble is, we make it too easy to walk an aisle to accept Jesus today.

The Narrow Gate and the Six Contrasts

I've known some big pastors who've had big churches, and they had big churches because they made it awful easy to walk that aisle to come to Jesus. But Jesus declared, Enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat, because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Listen, friends, there are fewer saved than those with great difficulty in suppressing in through a straight and narrow gate. I'm going to contrast modern-day evangelism versus biblical salvation by listing six aspects which demonstrate the difference between the error of our day and the truth found in our Bibles.

Are you ready? Get out your pens and papers, or iPods, or whatever it is you young people have today. I will first list these six aspects of modern evangelism versus biblical salvation, and then elaborate on each of them individually.

Number one, many preachers make it easy to walk an aisle to accept Jesus, but Jesus said few are saved than those with great difficulty. Number two, today's evangelist tells folks to only believe and you will go to heaven, whereas Jesus said, unless you repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Number three, today we ask people to believe a fact, like the death of Christ, or believe a text for salvation, but Jesus said, ye must be born again. Many today, I fear, believe on the death of Christ, but do not believe on the Christ who died.

Number four, human faith versus saving faith. Human faith, and the chair illustration, as opposed to saving faith, which only comes from God. Today we have taken salvation out of the hands of God and placed it in the hands of man.

Number five, you can have Jesus as Savior without having him as Lord. Hence, we offer people today only a Savior, but not a Lord, whereas Jesus is Lord. You must submit to his Lordship. Jesus did not save us from, Jesus did not save us in our sins, friends, but rather Jesus hung on a bloody cross to save us from our sins.

The Lordship of Christ is a lost doctrine today. Number six, we tell people they are saved. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to tell someone they are saved. Well let's begin with number one. Many preachers make it easy to walk in the aisle to accept Jesus.

Jesus’ Refusal to Trust Professed Believers

Maybe you have attended a revival meeting and the visiting evangelist will give an altar call to come forward to receive Jesus. Next time you go to one of these meetings, write down what that evangelist says in his appeal and check it against the scripture record and the words of Jesus Christ because even though many today make it easy to walk in the aisle, Jesus never did.

Jesus turned away the rich young ruler because of his covetousness, but today we would take that rich young ruler and jump at the chance to get him on our membership roll and then make him chairman of the deacons because today the norm in our churches is to pick deacons for their business acumen and prominence within the community rather than their prayer life and holy walk with God.

Listen to these scripture verses and compare these with our modern evangelism today, friends. In the Gospel of John we read in chapter two and verses twenty-three through twenty-five which state, Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name when they saw the miracles which he did.

But Jesus did not commit himself unto them because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify a man, for he knew what was in man. In other words, just because a crowd of people made a profession to be followers of his did not mean they were truly saved individuals.

In fact, they were not because Jesus did not commit himself unto them, rather he would have told them, Depart from me, ye that work iniquity, I never knew you. I think it's interesting that the passage of scripture which follows John two twenty-three through twenty-five is the story of Nicodemus and the necessity to be born again through an act of regeneration upon the heart.

I'm afraid that many preachers today, in an effort to grow their church numerically, make the narrow way a lot broader than Jesus made it. Now let us look at the second aspect of modern evangelism versus biblical salvation.

Repentance, Sin, and the Fear of Hell

Preachers will tell people that to be saved, all you have to do is believe, only believe in Jesus, and you will be saved. How many times have I heard this over the years? Listen friends, Jesus declared that if one does not repent, he will surely go to hell.

Jesus never omitted the duty of man's repentance to be saved, but we do. We omit it because if we don't, then we have to mention sensitive subjects like sin and hell and holiness, and we don't want to do that and risk offending somebody because we want to grow our church with numbers.

The New Birth Versus Mere Mental Assent

So we preach nice little sermons that don't offend anybody, but the trouble is they don't save anybody either. Now let's look at number three. Today we have textual decisionists in our churches. They merely believe the fact about the death of Christ, or they believe the text and made a decision for Christ based on a text.

But the sad fact is they've never been awakened to their lost condition, never been convicted of sin, and never been truly converted through a supernatural act of regeneration upon the heart, which is the new birth.

Listen friends, a majority of folks today have joined our churches, and they have based their salvation on a text like John 3 .16 or on a fact like the death of Christ, but it's my fear that many church members today have believed in the death of Christ, but not on the Christ who died.

They've made a mental assent to Christianity, it's all from the shoulders up. They decided to become a Christian based on an argument, or a fact, or a text, but they've never been changed, they've never been transformed, they've never gotten under the blood and had their sins washed away by a bloodstained Jesus.

They just made a mental choice to become a Christian like they would have decided to join a country club. Number four, human faith versus saving faith. Many evangelists today act like insurance salesmen who use closers on folks to get them to make a decision.

Human Faith and Saving Faith

A popular closer is the chair illustration as it pertains to faith in Christ, and evangelists will say something like this, all you have to do to be saved is to trust Jesus, just place your faith in Jesus friend, see this chair, you're sitting on this chair because you exercised the faith that it would support you if you sat on it, you put your trust in that chair didn't you friend, well just put your trust in Jesus, just like you trusted that chair to support you, and you will be saved.

The Lordship of Christ in Salvation

Or some evangelists will use the airplane close, the airplane close goes something like this, how many of you have flown on a plane, raise your hand, well when you stepped aboard that plane you were exercising faith, you're believing that the plane will take you safely to your destination because you have faith in that airline, and in that pilot, and faith in that plane, just place your faith in Jesus friend, just like you would, just like you'd get on that plane, that's what they tell you, that's what they tell folks today, and it's so sad because no one will escape hell with a human faith like that friend, an atheist has faith to get on a plane, an atheist has faith to sit in a chair and believe it will support him, there's a vast difference between human faith and saving faith, saving faith is something only God can give you, you cannot manufacture it on your own, today's evangelism has taken salvation out of the hands of God and placed it in the hands of men, but listen friends to what Jesus declared, no man can come to me except the Father which sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day, it is the spirit which quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing, therefore said I unto you that no man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my Father, that's what Jesus said, and you know what, you know what brother evangelist, you won't draw a crowd with that doctrine, in fact you'll drive some of them away, that's what happened to Jesus after he spoke those words, look at John 6, 66 which states, from that time many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him, you start preaching the truth and it will thin out your crowds, but it will also save some folks, now let's look at number five, you can have Jesus as savior without taking him as Lord, we fail to preach the Lordship of Christ in our pulpits today, but listen friend, let me be honest with you, if Jesus is not your Lord, he is not your savior, I can promise you that, you must throw down your shotgun of rebellion and surrender to the king of kings, Jesus Christ sits on a throne at the right hand of the Father, and he earned that right by way of a bloody cross, he died because of your wretched sins, he died because of my wicked sins, Jesus didn't hang on a bloody cross and suffer and die to save you in your sins, but rather Jesus came to save his people from their sins, but many evangelists today tell folks that all they have to do to go to heaven is to have Jesus as their savior, they don't have to submit to his Lordship to be saved, that's what we tell folks today, listen friend, if you want to come to Christ savingly, you must approach him where he is, and he sits on a heavenly throne, you must bow to him there, you must surrender your all to him, and end your rebellion once and for all, it must be a complete surrender, he must be a complete master, listen dear friend, when you get saved something happens, a self is dethroned, and another is enthroned there, the Lord Jesus Christ, he must rule in your life, your life is not your own, your body is not your own, your time is not your own, your money is not your own, he must be a complete master, but many church members don't believe that, so they cry out, we will not have this man reign over us, but you must bow to his Lordship now friend, for if you do not, you will bow on a future day when he makes his enemies his footstool, now let's look at the last aspect of modern evangelism versus biblical salvation, and this is number 6, we tell people today they are saved because they have walked an aisle, or repeated a prayer, or agreed with a text, we pat them on the back and say, welcome to the family of God, you are now saved, but it's not so friends, only the Holy Spirit can tell someone if they are truly regenerated, it's not our job to do that, that's the work of the Holy Spirit,.

D .L. Moody used to tell his workers that they should never tell someone they are saved, because only the Holy Spirit can do that, it's his office, and it's true friends, my Bible declares, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God, for ye have not received the spirit of bondage, again to fear, but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father, the Spirit itself, beareth witness with our spirit, and we are the children of God, dear friend, don't ever let an evangelist tell you that you are now saved, only God by his Holy Spirit can do that, so we have these aspects here, which we have looked at today, these contrasts between modern evangelism and true biblical salvation, how different they are, it is my prayer that the pulpits in this land will once again preach the full counsel of God, and not be afraid of men, but only fear God, and call sin black and hell hot, and warn men of their duty of repentance, and their great necessity of a work of grace upon their heart, through regeneration, it's time we start being honest with folks, and warn them of their great danger of dying in their sins, and dropping into hell before it's too late.